NCAA Championship Game 2015 Controversial Call: Replay Video, Twitter Reaction

If there was a unifying element in the 2015 NCAA tournament, it was near-unanimous criticism of the officials. That carried over to Monday's title game with Duke knocking off Wisconsin, though there was one key moment that some believe may have turned the tide for the Blue Devils. 

Technically, you could argue there were multiple instances. One being whether or not Justise Winslow stepped out of bounds near the Duke basket on a play that led to a Jahlil Okafor basket to give the Blue Devils a 61-58 lead. 

The key controversy stems from Winslow touching or not touching a ball that went out of bounds, shown in the video below.

At that moment in the game, there were fewer than two minutes to play with Duke leading 63-58. Replays seemed to show Winslow's fingertips grazing the ball before it went out of bounds, which would have given Wisconsin possession. 

However, on the CBS broadcast, announcers said the referees made the determination there wasn't 100 percent evidence to overturn the call and give Wisconsin possession. Tyus Jones drained a three-pointer on the next possession to give Duke a 66-58 lead and essentially seal the victory. 

Taking a closer look, as Michael P. King of the Wisconsin State Journal did, it's clear that Winslow did touch the ball:

It seems obvious when replay slowed it down that Winslow touched the ball. The only people who didn't notice were the only ones whose opinions mattered.  

Los Angeles Clippers power forward Ekpe Udoh didn't use many words to voice his displeasure at the call:

There has to be some joy for NBA players being able to take frustrations out on referees in another league without worry of being fined. 

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News used Twitter to criticize the officials while putting it in the context of One Shining Moment:

Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said after the game, via Nick Schwartz of USA Today, that he felt the referees seemed to be overwhelmed by all of the different elements of the game:

"

You just have to be able to handle all the hands and the checking. There was more body contact in this game than any game we’ve played all year, and I just feel sorry for my guys that all of a sudden a game was like that. I think they had a… they’re struggling with that a little bit. We missed some opportunities, they hit some tough shots, but you know — it’s just a shame that it had to be played that way.

"

Give Ryan credit for showing restraint after the loss, because he could have been more angry and had a lot of right to be upset about the way things were officiated. His team had a hard enough job taking on a talented Duke team, so having to fight against questionable officiating is Sisyphus trying to roll a boulder up the hill. 

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green believes the officials should be looking for a new line of work after Monday:

The officials aren't likely to lose their jobs, though it would nice to be a fly on the wall when they meet with the College Basketball Officials Association for a performance review. 

For all the criticism officials are taking today, few are actually offering a solution. That's a typical reaction to things. Instead of wondering how a system can be improved, it just gets run down to elicit a response from people on social media or talk radio. 

One person who did offer a solution is Rich Hoffman of The Philadelphia Daily News, who thinks college basketball should take its replay cues from other sports:

Even though you may not think another party would need to be involved when there are three referees on the court and they get the same replay angles we do, it is sometimes best to get others involved. They can look at a bigger monitor, if need be, and it can help save time. 

Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples brought up the topic of larger replay monitors as a perfect holiday gift idea for next season:

As poor as some of the officiating was, it's impossible to know just how much of a role it played in the outcome of the game. Yes, the Badgers lost a possession in the final two minutes that could have made it a one-score game. But the defense didn't step up to prevent Jones from hitting the three-point shot. 

Wisconsin didn't lose because of one or two bad calls. The Badgers were up 48-39 with 13 minutes remaining in the second half, so the referees weren't playing favorites. It was just a bad night on the biggest stage the sport has to offer. 

Duke made the plays it had to make down the stretch, while Wisconsin didn't. Finding answers for why things happen is what sports fans do when their teams lose, but sometimes it's as simple as the other team being better on a given night.